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Be tough on errant school managers

Finding out that genocide ideology was rife in schools, serious as it is, will turn out a silver lining in the end. The members of parliament who are touring schools to talk to teachers and pupils alike about the problem, are unearthing more than they were mandated to do, which is a very big advantage to the ministry of Education and the parents who send their children to schools.

Finding out that genocide ideology was rife in schools, serious as it is, will turn out a silver lining in the end.

The members of parliament who are touring schools to talk to teachers and pupils alike about the problem, are unearthing more than they were mandated to do, which is a very big advantage to the ministry of Education and the parents who send their children to schools.

Parliamentary reports from such field tours of schools indicate that there is a lot that the ministry’s Inspectorate division has to do: unhygienic conditions of living, lack of qualified teachers and an abundance of non-qualified teachers; lack of utilities like water, leading to pupils walking long distances in search of the same; very poor school infrastructure - poorly constructed classrooms and dormitories, no leisure facilities - the list of school woes is endless.

Whereas there is an urgent need to address the big numbers of children who have to access education, we have to be on a sharp lookout for their manner of studying. It serves no purpose for Rwanda to have big numbers of pupils going to school when they are being fed on poison - which is what we can rate the kind of material a non-qualified teacher may render, as he does not have the qualification, qualities and material to impart.

It is to be noted that most imperfections exist in private schools. This where the MPs have reported gross mismanagement - of administration and funds. Education is a social service that should be closely monitored by the government, as it concerns the bringing up of citizens who will later be the managers of this nation. All school proprietors who are in it merely for the money at the expense of quality service provision should not have a place here.

As we all work to uproot genocide ideology in our schools, we should also see to it that all other facilities are in place in order not to compromise the high standards we have set for every service we are providing to Rwandans.